


i've got no excuse.

by j_whirl44



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: I just wanted Jasper to dunk on Carter this is my vehicle for it, Other, This is your captain speaking I am back on my bullshirt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:01:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24859570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_whirl44/pseuds/j_whirl44
Summary: Cel asks Carter for a favor.
Relationships: Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom/Howard Carter
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17





	i've got no excuse.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ennoshitas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ennoshitas/gifts).



Carter shifts his feet nervously as four sets of eyes lizard like eyes stare at him. He can see Barnes and Wilde both have an amused expression on their face as they watch his misery.

Cel walks up next to him and gives him a pat on his shoulder as well as a small smile that makes Carter nervous for completely different reasons. “Right,” they say, “so uh-when you get to the village you’ll meet Jasper. He’ll tell you more when you get there! Then just...get to work. We’ll be back before you know it!”

Carter nods. Cel’s hand is still on his shoulder. They share a look. Each seems like they want to say something more, but Cel turns their attention to the kobolds. They say something in draconic and the little group straightens up their back more. Carter does too.

Cel looks to Carter again but is interrupted before they can do anything more,

“Cel let’s go! Ship’s leaving,” Zolf calls out. Carter sighs as the two step away from each other.

He smiles, “You better go or he’ll get even crankier,” he says.

“Oh I’m not sure that’s even possible,” Cel says. They stop for another moment and wink at Carter before heading off quickly. He lets out a small sigh and prays he’s not blushing too hard. The kobolds are still staring at him. He gives a nervous smile. He wonders what he just got himself into.

\---

_ It was early yesterday evening when Cel came up to him with a nervous look on their face. Carter frowned, “What’s wrong?” he asked. Their face twisted in confusion like they weren’t expecting that question. He was thankful he was holding his journal because he had an urge to reach out to them. He chewed on the inside of his cheek instead and waited for them to speak. _

_ “Oh, uh, no I’m fine-I’m great! I just uh...well Carter you...I hope you know I trust you right? I mean you know that, right? Well-I might trust Azu a bit more but-uh-behind her you’re good! And now I-well I need your help,” they ramble out. They look to Carter and wait for him to respond.  _

_ He blinks a few times and clears his throat, “Uh, yes, Cel what is it?” _

_ Cel fiddles with their hands and turns away from him as their nose crinkles in concentration and they bite their lip. Carter tries to not focus on that. “Well you see I just got back from seeing my village and-wahoo!-everything is great over there! They’re celebrating and happy! I went to see my old assistant, Jasper, and I told them we’re heading off to Svalbard and that uh...I might be having a few friends drop by and I-uh-was hoping...was wondering if you’d-escort them there and keep an eye on ‘em,” they said. _

_ “Who?” Carter asked. _

_ Cel laughs nervously and tilts their head to the entrance of the room where Skraak stands next to a slightly smirking Wilde. Carter’s eyes widen and he turns his attention back to Cel, “the kobolds? They’re not going with you?” _

_ “Not all of them,” Cel replied, “You see some of them are coming with us but it’s just not plausible or safe for all of them. So mister Skraak over there has convinced-or more like ordered-some to stay behind and go and help my village. I, uh, told Jasper that too so he knows they’re coming I just…” Cel trailed off. _

_ Now, Carter did take the chance to reach out. He placed his hand on their wrist and squeezed gently. Cel jumped a little at the contact but then gave a quick smile and put their other hand on top of his for a moment. “I’ll do it,” he says. _

_ Cel blinks their eyes in disbelief and they stare at him with something Carter couldn’t quite place. Or at least, something he didn’t dare try and believe was there. For both of their sakes. _

_ “You will?” Cel says, they break into a smile and that’s really more than enough incentive for him to be sure of his answer. _

_ He nods, “Of course. It gives me a great excuse to get out of this place for a while-oh,” _

_ He doesn’t expect Cel to hug him but he accepts it nonetheless. He situates them so he can hold them tight. He tries to keep it as casual and between friends as possible, but if he takes a second or two longer than what’s usually acceptable, who is there to judge. _

_ Wilde, apparently, as Carter looks to see him still standing at the doorway. He gives Carter a nonchalant wink as he walks off. Carter just rolls his eyes and focuses back on the hug.  
\--- _

He hasn’t had much time to think about the-whatever- it is he has with Cel. Nothing’s happened more than casual flirting and Carter’s comfortable with that. He’s basically always lived in that zone with past infatuations and he gets the sense that Cel’s the same.

Problem is, Carter doesn’t necessarily hate the idea of taking it a step further with them. He doesn’t know if it’s because it’s been so long since he’s met anyone that didn’t already know him to be an annoying and obnoxious wanna be bank robber or if it’s because he did genuinely enjoy Cel’s company and kindness. It was most likely a mixture of both, but even Carter knew that forming attachments beyond familiar comradery was dangerous. As it were he can admit that watching them depart for Svalbard makes him anxious and he wishes that he was going with them, but it’s probably for the best they’re apart from each other, so he has a chance to clear his mind; sort out his feelings.

He stares at the kobolds again and clears his throat, “Right are we ready to go then,” he says.

There’s no response at first. They all look between each other. Then one just shrugs and nods and that's good enough for Carter, “Uh...good,” he says. They exit the inn and he swears he can hear one or two of them _ laughing _ behind him. He hopes the journey to Cel’s village isn’t long.

As they get outside he sees Earhart’s ship taking off.  _ ‘See you soon,’ _ he thinks. The  _ ‘I hope’ _ is implied.

Thankfully it really doesn’t take long to reach the village. He tried to follow Cel’s rather thorough instructions, though they were nonsensical at times, but they made it there in a day and a half. He shouldn’t be surprised at how well the kobolds were able to travel, they all kept to themselves but the silence between him and them wasn’t uncomfortable at all. He actually finds himself enjoying the company.

He walks up to the village entrance with the four kobolds in tow. He thinks it’s lucky they’re to be expected, otherwise this looks pretty weird right now. He sees two gnomes approach him warily. He sees the weapons by their sides, Carter raises his hands.

“I’m a friend of the alchemist,” he says, “I’m looking for Jasper?”

At the mention of the name, the two gnomes look at each other and immediately relax their stances and greet him with smiles. Carter’s not expecting the complete emotional shift ad he slowly lowers his arms and walks forward. He looks back at the kobolds who seem to be more wary than he is. “It’s okay. Cel trusts these people and so should we, right?” he says, trying to be as reassuring as possible. One kobold smiles and flicks their tail before turning to the others and saying something in Draconic. They look back at him and nod as they step forward and follow him in.

The village is simple and small, which is to be expected for Carter. The top of the art defense system that seems to be in place doesn’t escape his notice however as he’s led by the gnomes to what he can only assume is Cel’s former lab-or shop.

It’s a building that’s been modified to hell and back and Carter smiles a little as he imagines Cel working on it at all hours of the day and he wonders how much was done for simply cosmetic reasons. The gnomes knock on the half wooden-half metal door and it swings open almost instantly.

Out pops a gnome with dark hair and goggles that almost cover his entire face. They almost look like the same pair Cel wears and Carter wonders if they used to be theirs. The gnome lifts the goggles up and is shown now to be wearing his own set of glasses underneath.

“Yes hello what-oh” he stops and looks at the kobolds and then up at Carter. He speaks Gnomish to the two others and sends them on their way. 

He gives Carter and the kobolds another look before stepping forward. He holds out a hand and Carter takes it.

“R-Right. So Uh you must be the one Cel told me about. And these are…my apprentices,” he says. There’s an air growing between them all as Jasper and the kobolds just stare at each other for a long time. Again Carter wonders really truly what he’s gotten himself into.

He clears his throat and lets out an unconvincing laugh, “yeah, yeah this is the crew uh Cel said you’d be good with them. I..don’t know how much they’ve told you but they could use the distraction right now. And I think Cel just wants to know you’re both safe,” he says.

Jasper turns his attention back to him and nods at him slowly. There’s something in his big brown eyes that tells Carter he’s searching for something. He stands his ground.

“Very well,” Jasper says, “I don’t know what they all can really do but...this is for Cel. I’ll figure out something. As for you...I guess just...stay out of the way?”

Carter stifles a laugh at that, Jasper looks at him unamused. Off to a great first impression, as always. “That’s not a problem. I’ll just be a bug on the wall, promise,” Carter says.

One of the kobolds speaks in Japanese, Carter doesn’t quite understand. Jasper gives a look between Carter and the kobold that spoke and replies also in Japanese. They all look at Carter now, and he decided he very much doesn’t want to be standing there right now, with five pairs of eyes on him. “Right so uh where to now?”

Jasper smiles, “yes of course right this way,” he says.

What ensues is four kobolds, a gnome, and a full sized man squeezing into a tea shop slash alchemy lab slash bedroom and everyone in the room realizes the situation. Carter sighs, he thinks it’s going to be a long few weeks.

And it is a very long few weeks, but it’s going surprisingly well. After the first week and a half, other villages started coming around the shop to see the kobolds work, some even brought food and stuff for them. Carter watched in awe at the generosity of it all and he laughed as he watched the kobolds try and eat things given to them. Nine times out ten it was unceremoniously spit out onto the ground, but the attempts were made.

Another week passed and now Jasper really only has one ‘apprentice’ while the others have taken to helping around different parts of the village, whether it be with the defenses, construction, or even cooking. Though the last one had Carter a bit worried, and he started to insist on making his own meals from now on.

Another week passes and one day Jasper finds Carter sitting outside the shop. He’s in a chair leaning back, his head on the side of the building as he tries to take in some of the sun shining down in the afternoon heat.

“Hey,” Jasper says.

Carter responds with a lazy nod. In the time he’s been here on babysitting duty, the two of them have had some casual conversations. Like Cel, Jasper is incredibly smart and won’t hesitate to talk about anything and everything, so Carter does his usual pleasantries of smiling and nodding while he talks. 

There’s something more serious about Jasper’s tone and look today and that makes Carter uneasy. He straightened himself up and looked around the village for any sign of something off. Everything looks normal, so Carter relaxes only slightly. Jasper seems to have caught on to the other man’s suspicion and he quickly changes his tone and puts his hands up, “Oh no. No uh sorry about that. I’m not-everything’s okay. I just uh...wanted to talk to you about something, I guess?” he says.

Jasper still looks nervous, but Carter believes him when he says the village is safe so he relaxes full now. He nods to tell the gnome to sit in the chair next to him. He does. There’s a silence now and Carter really has no idea where this conversation is going.

As if a switch turned in Jasper’s brain, he’s now looking at Carter with a shine in his eye and a smirk on his face that Carter has never seen before, “So you like Cel then?” he says so matter-of-factly that Carter chokes on his own spit.

He coughs and tries to regain a sense of composure as he tries to find the right words to say, “What? I-uh...what who told-I mean where did you get that idea,” he responds so unconvincingly he’s sure he’s been caught and he doesn’t know what to do now.

Jasper laughs and starts to coo at Carter who now hides his face in his hand. He doesn’t have the energy to deny it right now, and he doesn’t really want to.

He’s had a lot of time to think about it over the weeks he’s been staying here, and he’s right back where he started. He does like Cel and the time and space apart hasn’t helped any of those feelings subside. He just hopes they all return to Svalbard soon so he can see Cel and know they’re okay.

“The kobolds are very good at a lot of things, Mister Carter, two of them being teaching draconic and gossiping,” Jasper says with a laugh, “All they told me about was how you followed Cel around like a puppy at the inn. Constantly asking them questions and getting in the way-”

“Uh yeah alright I get it. I just uh...wanted to be friendly. They’re a good person. Didn’t hate me like the others…” Carter trails off. Jasper’s expressions soften slightly and he reaches out to give a small pat to Carter’s knee.

“Cel’s the best of them. I don’t think they’ve ever met someone they didn’t like, except you know, the bad guys,” he laughs, then his look turns serious, “but they’ve been through a lot. More than what any of us will ever know. I don’t know you that well but just know that,” Jasper hesitates. Carter starts to fiddle with hands.

“Look, Jasper, I’m not-I don’t plan to really...act on anything. I mean, the world is still so different. It’s not a good risk to take. They’re not even back from another life saving mission yet-I can’t put myself...both of us through something like that,” he says. He doesn’t know where all this sincerity is coming from all of sudden, perhaps he’s more tired than he thought. Maybe he really does miss Cel more than he was previously willing to admit.

Suddenly, one of the kobolds rushes up to the both of them. Jasper springs up and Carter reaches for one of the daggers he has on his hip. The kobold says something in Draconic and Jasper smiles and gives out a yell of what sounds like celebration. Carter removes his hand from his dagger and stands up with a curious look, Jasper and the kobold look at him with the same look and given the conversation that just happened, he’s got a good guess about what’s happening.

He doesn’t try to hide his smile and small blush as he uses his eyes to ask the question. Jasper just nods and is about to respond before a voice cuts through the sleepy village.

“Jasper! Little Buddy!” the three turn to the voice and see Cel running up with Azu in tow. At first glance they both look tired and awful, but they’re both alive.

Carter notices now that the remaining kobolds are now surrounding Cel as well and he smiles as they hug every single one of them. Jasper gives him a playful shove and a wink and Carter rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “I already told you,” Carter says, his voice is low and a little sad. Jasper pats his arm in understanding before he goes to join Cel and the kobolds.

Azu and Carter lock eyes and give each other nods in acknowledgement before he goes off towards somewhere else. Cel’s alive and he feels like he can breath a bit easier now.

If there’s one thing this village knows how to do, it’s throw a party. As soon as Cel returned they were bringing out tents and chairs and decorations and more food than Carter has seen since arriving here.

He watches from the sidelines and sees the rest of the party show up. God, Carter thinks he’s really had it easy then as not one of them looks like they can really stand and their faces are worse for wear than when they set off on the mission. They must’ve had a hell of a time, but despite that they’re all laughing and dancing, they seem to be in good spirits. He sits and observes them from the outside, like always.

It’s well into the night and the party finally appears to be winding down. There’s gnomes passed out all over the ground, more groups laughing and walking back to their homes. Carter looks and sees there’s a pile of the kobolds resting by a treeline, it’s adorable and he smiles at the scene.

He sees Cel and Jasper laughing on the steps of their shop. Jasper’s leaning on them and Cel holds him. He looks down at the ground, feeling guilty for intruding on a moment between friends.

He lets out a long sigh and closes his eyes. He doesn’t know what happened in Svalbard and he doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, for the first time in his life he’s unsure of what to do and it’s a bad feeling.

He hears someone approach him and he snaps his head up to see Cel. They’re eyes are sparkling and Carter balls his hands into fist as he tries to keep his face neutral. Cel points to the spot next to him, “Can I sit?” they ask.

Carter nods and makes room. They sit so close their legs are touching, Carter knows he should move away, but he doesn’t.

“Hey, you’ve been quiet all night,” they say. Carter can see now the new scars on their face and how tired their eyes look.

“Just letting everyone have fun. Looks like you all needed it,” he says.

Cel smiles and lets out a small laugh, “yeah, yeah we definitely did,” they say. Neither of them talk for a moment as they both take in the night air. Cel looks like they’re lost in thought and Carter bites his lip. The tension grows. “Thank you, Carter,” Cel says, “for keeping an eye on things around here. Jasper’s great I had no doubts he’d handle it but I just-well it’s-it’s nice to know someone else was here especially when things on Svalbard got...well...you know,” they say.

Their voice is so small and sincere Carter instinctively places a hand on their knee and squeezes, “It wasn’t a trouble Cel, really,” he says.

Cel is staring at his hand on their knee with pursed lips. They then look to Carter, seemingly searching for something in his face. He doesn’t move a muscle.

“Carter I don’t...are you-do we...I think I would...uh,” Cel stutters through their words and he can’t help but smile a little at them. Cel gives a nervous laugh and clears their throat, “I believe I would like to kiss you if that’s...if that’s something you want I mean both the kobolds and Jasper have said some things but I still didn’t want to-oh,” they say, they’re caught by surprise when Carter moves his hand from their knee and grabs one of their hands, lacing their fingers together. Cel squeezes them as if to test it’s real and it’s too dark to see but there’s a blush on their cheeks.

“Cel I would very much like it if you kissed me,” he says with a smile that feels so genuine it almost makes him sick. He feels like a teenager again and it’s foolish but he doesn't care right now.

Cel leans in and he meets them halfway. Their lips are drier than expected but he doesn’t mind. Carter moves his free hand to cup their cheek and pull them in closer. Cel moves a hand to the back of his neck. It’s a tired and lazy first kiss, but it feels right to Carter.

They break apart and Cel leans their head on Carter’s shoulder, hands still intertwined. “I thought about you...a lot while I was gone. I didn’t really know what it meant until I got back here I think…” they say.

Carter smiles, it’s been so long since he’s been in this situation, it’s almost uncharted territory at this point, but to know that all this wasn’t in his own head, it feels nice. He felt relieved and terrified all at once. He doens’t know what comes next for any of them but this makes it all a little more bearable. He moves his head and places a small kiss on top of their head.

“Yeah, me too,” he says.

**Author's Note:**

> I just thought what if Carter continues to get dunked on by everyone he knows and wrote this. Love that absolute disaster.
> 
> also Happy Birthday Ally hope you liked it :3 It's so lovely knowing you<3


End file.
